Australia foreign e-commerce GST 1 Jul 2017

Thu 15th Jun 2017

Opposition parties are continuing to call for a 1-year postponement on plans to levy GST on small B2C transactions from 1 July 2017. This is despite the enacting legislation, the Treasury Laws Amendment (GST Low Vale Goods) Bill 2017, passing the House of Representatives without change this week. The Bill will now move to the Senate.

Australia is planning to scrap the AUS$1,000 GST-free threshold for sales by non-residents to Australia via the web – including on eBay, Amazon, Alibaba. This would force any foreign merchants selling more than $75,000 per annum to GST register and charge 10% on all sales.

In addition to the small package threshold withdrawal, foreign Sellers of digital services to Australian consumers will also be required to charge 10% GST.

However, all the major marketplaces have raised concerns that foreign merchants are not fully aware of the changes for B2C goods, and the marketplaces cannot assist on tax collections. Some platforms have threatened to block sales to Australian consumers.

It is estimated that over 3,000 foreign companies will have to register for GST on goods. The levy on foreign providers of B2C e-services should go ahead on 1 July 2017.

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